Keene scores 41 points as men's basketball tops Ohio, 97-87
Junior Marcus Keene once again put on a show scoring 41 points on 15-of-25 shooting and 9-of-18 on 3-pointers as the Central Michigan men's basketball team topped Ohio, 97-87 Tuesday night.
It was CMU's fourth-straight victory over the Bobcats dating back to 2015. After going on a 13-0 run in the first half, the Chippewas controlled the rest of the game.
“I don’t know if we have their number or anything, but we’ve been fortunate to play well against them,” said head coach Keno Davis. “Tonight, we showed glimpses of the team we would be by the end of the season. Win or lose, if we play that hard on the offensive end, the defensive end, and on the boards, we’re going to have a chance down the stretch.”
CMU improves to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in Mid-American Conference play. It was just the team’s second conference victory away from McGuirk Arena. After starting 0-3 in league play, the Chippewas are now in a three-way tie for first place in the MAC West Division with Ball State and Northern Illinois.
Historic Season Continues
Keene scored 21 points in the first half and added 20 in the second. The nation’s leading scorer has gone over 40 points five times this season and 30 points 14 times.
Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison (2006) is the only other player in the last 20 years to have five 40-point games in one season.
Keene now has scored 736 points this season is only 24 points away from breaking the program’s all-time scoring mark in a season, set by Dan Majerle (759) during the 1987-88 season.
Senior Braylon Rayson added 21 points Tuesday on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor. The Dallas, Texas native only had seven points in the first half, but took over along with Keene after the break. Rayson added four assists and one steal.
It was Rayson's 10th consecutive game of 20 or more points. Rayson has scored 1,693 career points and is 43 points behind Chris Fowler for fifth all-time in CMU history.
Controlling the Paint
While the Chippewas led throughout, the Bobcat’s 3-point shooting kept them in the game. Ohio hit 16 3-pointers on 37 attempts. Only problem was CMU matched it with 16 3-pointers of its own on 35 shots.
The biggest difference in the game was CMU winning the battle in the post. CMU out-rebounded OU 41-35 and had 10 offensive boards. The Chippewas — who have gotten beat in the paint for most of the season — never allowed OU to establish a low-post game and out-scored them 34-14 inside the paint.
“It goes to show you don’t have to have a typical post-up offense,” Davis said. “We would like to have that in our arsenal and hopefully we will by next year.”
What’s Next
The Chippewas will take on Miami (OH) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio. The last time the Chippewas faced the RedHawks, Keene scored 50 points to lead them to a 101-92 win on Jan. 21.
